ボルドー最高評議会
the Grand conseil du vin de bordeaux
CommanderIES, wine brotherhoods

Noël Vanwittenbergh gave a duo presentation for the Commanderie de Bordeaux aux Pays Bas with the theme Saint-Estèphe in the Bilderberg Garden Hotel. Wine was already produced here in Roman times; since 1936, Saint-Estèphe has an AOC accreditation.

On the basis of various maps, Noël explains the Geology in more detail; Sol de grave is a soil type consisting of a mix of pebbles, clay and sand, which all AOC wines from the Medoc share, however, Saint-Estèphe contains a slightly higher proportion of clay. The local climate is influenced by the nearby river Garonne and is therefore more temperate than other wines from the Médoc region.

The most commonly used grapes for this AOC are Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Petit Verdot. The AOC regulations do not stipulate exactly what should be combined with which proportions, but in practice most blends consist mainly of Cabernet Sauvignon. The different proportions of blending give the wines of each Château or Domain their own character. Some Châteaux increase the proportion of Merlot to give their young wines more flavour, while others Châteaux predominantly grow Cabernet Sauvignon.

The Masterclass gave us insights into how the vintages of three different Châteaux from Saint-Estèphe develop from 2017 to 2020; an extremely interesting experience, especially with the observation that some wines evolved extremely quickly in the glass for the better.

Finally, the Masterclass was followed by an excellent three-course menu prepared by Chef Sebastiaan Kant and his team, where a white Graves was served with the bisque, a Saint-Estèphe from 2018 with the duck and at the end of this successful evening a Tarte tatin with Sauternes from the same year.